Vilokan is the home of the lwa in Vodou. It is synonymous with the spirit realm, as opposed to the physical realm in which mortals live. It is depicted as a submerged island.
Legba is the gatekeeper of Vilokan and thus he is always approached first in Vodou ceremonies in order for participants to be granted access to the other lwa. The traditional chant is:
Atibo Legba, open the gates for me, Papa Legba, open the gates for me Open the gates that I might enter When I will return, I will salute the laws Vodou Legba, open the gates for me WI will return, I will thank the laws
Ties Between Physical World and Vilokan
Vilokan in many ways mirrors the physical realm, and this is frequently represented in ritual through such things as double handshakes, pairs of people mirroring each other's gestures, and a variety of gestures in ritual being the opposite of how it is commonly done in the mundane world.
The two worlds are connected, and it is represented in Vodou temples by a central pole, the potomitan, around which ceremonies are performed. This pole is often touched at the beginning of ritual to reinforce the connection between priest and spirit world.
As an Afterlife
Vilokan is also the realm of the dead. Ancestor worship is an important aspect of Vodou and are honored in ways similar to the honoring of lwa.
Spring is the season of new life, and as the ground warms, one of the first denizens of the animal kingdom we begin to notice emerging is the serpent. While a lot of people are afraid of snakes, it's important to remember that in many cultures, serpent mythology is strongly tied to the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
In Scotland, Highlanders had a tradition of pounding the ground with a stick until the serpent emerged. The snake's behavior gave them a good idea of how much frost was left in the season. Folklorist Alexander Carmichael points out in the Carmina Gadelica that there's actually a poem in honor of the serpent emerging from its burrow to predict spring-like weather on "the brown day of Bride".
The serpent will come from the hole
on the brown day of Bride (Brighid)
though there may be three feet of snow
on the surface of the ground.
In some forms of American folk magic and hoodoo, the snake can be used as an instrument of harm. In Hoodoo and Voodoo, Jim Haskins relays the custom of using the serpent's blood to introduce snakes into the human body. According to this hoodoo traditions, one must "extract the blood from a snake by puncturing an artery… feed the liquid blood to the victim in food or drink, and snakes will grow inside him."
A South Carolina rootworker who asked to be identified only as Jasper says his father and grandfather, both rootworkers, kept snakes on hand to use in magic. He says, "If you wanted someone to get sick and die, you used a snake that you tied a piece of their hair around. Then you kill the snake, and bury it in the person's yard, and the person gets sicker and sicker each day. Because of the hair, the person is tied to the snake."
Ohio is the home of the best-known serpent effigy mound in North America. Although no one is certain why the Serpent Mound was created, it's possible that it was in homage to the great serpent of legend. The Serpent Mound is about 1300 feet in length, and at the serpent's head, it appears to be swallowing an egg. The serpent's head aligns to the sunset on the day of the summer solstice. The coils and the tail may also point to sunrise on the days of the winter solstice and the equinoxes.
In the Ozarks, there is a story about a connection between snakes and babies, according to author Vance Randolph. In his book Ozark Magic and Folklore, he describes a tale in which a small child goes outside to play and takes along with him a piece of bread and his cup of milk. In the story, the mother hears the child chattering and assumes he's talking to himself, but when she goes outside finds him feeding his milk and bread to a poisonous snake -- typically either a rattlesnake or a copperhead. The old timers of the area warn that killing the snake would be a mistake -- that somehow the child's life is magically connected to that of the snake, and that "if the reptile is killed the baby will pine away and die a few weeks later."
The serpent is instrumental in the Egyptian myth cycle. After Ra created all things, Isis, the goddess of magic, tricked him by creating a serpent which ambushed Ra on his daily journey across the heavens. The serpent bit Ra, who was powerless to undo the poison. Isis announced that she could heal Ra from the poison and destroy the serpent, but would only do so if Ra revealed his True Name as payment. By learning his True Name, Isis was able to gain power over Ra. For Cleopatra, a serpent was an instrument of death.
In Ireland, St. Patrick is famous because he drove the snakes out of the country, and was even credited with a miracle for this. What many people don't realize is that the serpent was actually a metaphor for the early Pagan faiths of Ireland. St. Patrick brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle, and did such a good job of it that he practically eliminated Paganism from the country.
When it comes to symbolism in general, the snake has a lot of different meanings. Watch a snake shed his skin, and you'll think of transformation. Because snakes are silent and move stealthily before attacking, some people associate them with cunning and treachery. Still others see them as representative of fertility, masculine power, or protection.
via about.com
Mention graveyard dirt in a magical context, and chances are good you'll get a lot of strange looks or questions. After all, it sounds a bit creepy, right? Who in their right mind goes around scooping up soil out of cemeteries?
Well, believe it or not, a lot of people. The use of graveyard dirt isn't all that odd in many magical traditions. In some forms of folk magic, for example, the magical connection of the dirt is more significant than just being from a grave. What's more important is the person who's inside the grave.
Dirt from the grave of someone you loved could be used in love magic, while dirt from the burial site of a very wicked person might be incorporated into malevolent workings or curses. In other words, the dirt from the grave is a physical object that corresponds with the traits of the person buried beneath it.
How does one obtain graveyard dirt? It would be easy to just meander into the local cemetery with a trowel and a bag and start scooping, but it's better to be more respectful than this. First and foremost, it's important to choose a gravesite correctly. The best choice is to use dirt from the grave of someone you knew in life -- a family member or friend who has passed. If the person is someone you cared very much about, and who had a positive impact on your life, dirt from this grave could be used in any number of positive magical workings.
The second option would be to use dirt from the grave of someone who you may not have known personally, but who is known to you. For example, soil from a famous writer's grave could be used to inspire a creative spark. Earth from the grave of a wealthy person might be incorporated into a working for prosperity.
No matter whose grave you choose to collect dirt from, it's important that you do so in a respectful and honorable manner. Ask permission first -- and if you begin to feel uneasy, as thought the person buried beneath you is unhappy with what you're doing, then stop. It's also a good idea to leave an offering or small token of appreciation. Only take a small amount of dirt -- no more than a handful.
Finally, be sure to say thank you when you're finished.
For specific examples of how to use graveyard dirt in a ritual or working from a Hoodoo perspective, read Cat Yronwoode's essay over at Luckymojo: Graveyard Dirt.
-The Crafty Witch
